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On disc: Warrant



Rockaholic - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars


www.warrantrocks.com







Rockaholic

Rockaholic
(Frontiers Records - 2011)


When Warrant stepped into the limelight in 1989 with Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich they almost immediately hit the charts. The rest is history. In late 2008 the original band members - only Lane missing - hooked up with Robert Mason (ex-Lynch Mob). After 2 years of writing they hit the studio and recorded Rockaholic with producer Keith Olson and Pat Regan for the mix.

The album opens with Sex Ain't Love, a bluesy guitar leads you into the opener. Singer Robert Mason doesn't try to sound like his predecessor Jani Lane. And that's a wise decision, coz one can just fail trying to copy the original singer. After the bluesy / sleazy opening the refrain with the backings is truly 80's. Shake reminds me a bit of Great White, perhaps it's Mason's bluesy voice... Anyway, they spiced up the track with a catchy hook, shout along backings and a great lead guitar part.

For Dusty's Revenge they slow down for the opening passage, but later add some heaviness and speed up a bit. It's a balladesque bluesy rocker, very cool. A real ballad is next in line, it's called Home. A bit Bon Jovi-esque, not as catchy as the New Jerseyans. What Love Can Do is another rocker with an balladesque edge, but with the first spin it will hook you up.

Heavy riffs dominate Life's A Song, but it's the slight melancholy in the vocals which will enchant you. But see yourself, it's the first video off Rockaholic.





Another heavy one is the up-tempo Show Must Go On, for me one of the best tracks on this CD, even if the vocals are a bit repetitive during the chorus. But it's a powerful tune, a party rocker. And then they press down the accelerator for Cocaine Freight Train. A sleazy tune which live will be a highlight of the show.

Time for a soaring ballad, time for Found Forever. I can imagine this one to be even more intense in a stripped down version... Perhaps they will one day present an acoustic version of this one... Candy Man and Sunshine are decent tunes, no fillers and definitely no killers, but they will grow on you. One of my favorites is Tears In The City, acoustic guitar and vocals take you into that. But when the band joins in the songs gets heavier without leaving the balladesque element behind. The closer is a heavy guitar-based rocker called The Last Straw, but has a catchy refrain. Very memorable. A track which will make you pick up Rockaholic again.

Well, it's not another Cherry Pie, but that was something one could expect. Not just because 2 decades passed since they released this highly successful album, with a new singer it's wise to try something a little different. A good comeback album which shows that Warrant still rock!


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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           ©2008-2014 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com


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